Picnic

"Nothing special," Veratia said. "The Confederation is sorting and archiving materials. I'm planning to take a few days off after I submit mine."

"Perfect," Pabbie said. "If the weather's good next week, the few of us can go out for a walk together."

"Where to?" Harry asked.

Pabbie suggested, "I know a place upstream from Upper Black Lake. It's farther than the clearing you went to last time—nearly a two-hour walk. There are wildflowers there, and they bloom beautifully around this time every year. If you're interested, we can pick a day to go."

Cassandra turned her head and glanced at Harry, as if waiting for his answer.

"A two-hour walk? If we go on foot, it'll take most of the day."

"Then let's pick a weekend," Pabbie said. "It's not like any of you have much to do right now."

"Then we'll find time next week," Harry said.

"Saturday," Cassandra said. "The weather is usually nice on Saturdays."

"Saturday it is," Veratia said. "I'll wrap up my work with the Confederation beforehand. I'll be free all day Saturday."

Pabbie clipped the music stand shut and clapped her hands. "Then it's settled. We'll leave Saturday morning, and I'll prepare the food."

"You're preparing the food?" Harry asked.

"What else? Were you going to prepare it?" Pabbie laughed. "You can prepare your mouths and your legs. I'll handle everything else."

.

The four of them stood beside the stage for a few more minutes before going their separate ways.

After returning to the tower, Cassandra sat by the windowsill. She saw the sprigs of Silverleaf Chrysanthemum there and gently touched the leaf of one of them. It trembled slightly beneath her fingertips before settling back into place.

"We're going somewhere that far on Saturday, so you need to be prepared to